Novel baby seat covers

ABSTRACT

A child seat cover comprising a sheepskin cover member having a cuff to fit over the sides, and top and underside of a child&#39;s car seat, such member having a plurality of apertures for permitting the straps on the car seat to fit through.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is directed to novel baby and child car seatcovers. In particular, the present invention is directed to a baby orchild car seat cover constructed from natural skin such as sheepskin,shearling, angora, cashmere or canvas.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Child car seats are a critical part of the lives of millions of familieswith babies and small children. Virtually all U.S. states and Canadianprovinces require these seats by law. Most modern child car seats, whilesuitable for providing safety, are not particularly comfortable for thechild or baby. Many have rough edges and have hard surfaces. Moreover,they often do not match the upholstery of the rest of the vehicle.

There are several patents directed to the area of baby seat covers. U.S.Pat. No. 6,394,543 discloses a covering for children's seating devicessuch as car seats, strollers, swings, infant carriers or the likeincludes a main body portion forming a pocket that fits over a seatingdevice, and at least one blanket flap portion provided inset from a sideof the main body portion. The blanket flap portion is foldably coupledto the main body portion to cover a child seated in the seating devicewhen inwardly folded. Once the covering has been fastened to the seatingdevice, a child is placed thereon so that the rear of the child comesinto contact with the main body portion, which covers the seatingdevice. Harness straps of the seating device, which serve to secure thechild within the seating device, can be engaged through a dividedopening through the main body portion prior to fitting it over the seat.The blanket flap portion is then folded over the body of the child so asto insulate the child in the manner of a blanket.

U.S. Pat. No. 6,036,261 discloses a vehicular child seat cover isprovided including a cover and a plurality of rods each coupled to thecover for maintaining the same in an erected orientation. The coverdefines an enclosed space adapted for housing a vehicular child seattherein.

U.S. Pat. No. 6,601,917 discloses a seat assembly for a vehicle havingan anchor for a child seat disposed between a seat cushion and a seatback. The invention is characterized by a cover movable into a retractedand closed position between the seat cushions and the seat back coveringthe anchor and out of the retracted position to an extended and fullyopen position out from between the seat cushions and seat back exposingthe anchor for attachment to the child seat. The cover includes guideslots for slidably receiving side portions of the anchor and a rampedsurface automatically moves the lid from the closed position to thefully open position in response to the housing moving relative to theanchor.

U.S. Pat. No. 6,454,352 is directed towards a car seat pad for use inchild safety seats is described. The seat pad is formed of isotonic foamor encapsulated gel material to insulate an infant or small child fromthe hard surface of the safety seat. The pad includes a back portion anda hingedly joined seat portion. The back portion includes a number ofslots designed to accommodate the seat belt webbing of the child safetyseat. The seat portion includes a notch to provide space for the buckleof the seat belt. A removable washable cover is provided for the seatpad. The cover includes reinforced openings aligned with the slots inthe back portion of the pad. In versions of the seat pad designed forlarger children, a lumbar support pas is attached to the lower end ofthe back portion and an additional seat pad is attached to the upper endof the seat portion. The side edges of the back and seat portions aretapered to eliminate additional padding material from accumulating inthe safety seat when the seat pad is fold to fit within the seat.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,026,115 is directed towards a child car seat cover forcovering a generally triangular front retaining plate of a child carseat having a generally rectangular locking member extending from alower apex portion and a pair of shoulder straps extending from a topedge portion between spaced radiused corners includes a generallytriangular cover formed from a washable padded fabric material. Thecover has spaced front and back surfaces connected by sidewalls whichconverge from upper arcuate corners of the front surface to arectangular lower flared apex portion. The cover has a plurality offlaps including cooperating hook and loop type fastening strips forsecurement to the retaining plate.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,005,903 discloses a protective cushion for a child'sauto seat comprising a cover, padding encased by the cover and structurefor removably attaching the cushion to the exterior of a child's autoseat, whereby persons or things seated or placed next to a child's autoseat, whether occupied or not, will be protected from injury ordiscomfort from the hard, angular or rough surfaces of the exterior ofthe auto seat.

U.S. Pat. No. 5,618,082 discloses a one-piece terry cloth member sizedto cover a seat includes a terry cloth top section selectively sewn tothe cloth member to provide a first opening to allow the top of thecover to pass over the headrest while limiting downward and lateralmovement of the cloth member covering the front portion of the seatback. A cloth bottom section is selectively sewn to the cloth member toprovide a pocket. The pocket is pulled onto a seat, preferably placing asmall amount of tension on the cloth member, to limit rearward andlateral movement of the cloth member on the seat cushion.Advantageously, a portion of the cloth bottom section is detached fromthe cloth member to cover the front face of the seat cushion.

U.S. Pat. No. 6,702,381 discloses a kit for covering a seat assembly andsecuring a child therein. The kit includes a generally rectangularblanket large enough to cover areas of the seat assembly within theimmediate adjacency of a seated child. The blanket includes at least oneleg opening to mate with the leg aperture of the seat assembly. It alsoincludes at least one restraint opening. The kit includes a removablesafety belt that may be threaded through the blanket restraint openingto secure the child in the covered seat assembly. Also disclosed is thecombination of such a blanket and safety belt in combination with a seatassembly including a back portion, a seat, oppositely disposed sidebars, and a front portion having at least one aperture to accommodatethe legs of a child.

U.S. Design Pat. No. D307,847 discloses the ornamental design for achild's car seat slipcover. U.S. Patent Publication No. 2002/0096919discloses a temporary use seat cover comprises a flat, rectangular sheetwith an exposed surface of moisture absorbent fabric and at least apartial backing of a material providing a high coefficient of frictionto grip the underlying upholstery material and preclude slippage, uponits opposite upholstery contact surface. Two straps extend from theupper edge, for securing about a vehicle seat headrest. Additionalstraps may be provided extending across the back of the upper and lowerportions of the cover, for extending around the back of the seatback andbeneath the forward edge of the seat bottom for additional security.

Sheepskin is an extremely popular material for upholstery. It is verypopular in vehicle adult seat covers. It provides warmth in the winterand provides insulation from heat in the summer. While natural sheepskinis very popular for adult car seats, it has heretofore not be used forchild car seats. There is a need for a line of child car seat sheepskincovers and accessories for children from infants to toddlers, which arewashable, and which will keep a child warm in the winter months and coolin the summer months. The object of the invention is to make a child ascomfortable as possible as a passenger in an automobile and the like.The seat covers of the present invention are designed in differentshapes to fit different brands of car seats.

While the prior art discloses a number of baby seat covers, nonedisclose such a baby seat cover constructed from sheepskin. Nonedisclose a baby seat cover constructed with natural sheepskin or othernatural animal skin.

It is an object of the present invention to provide seat cover for ababy or child car seat.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a child orbaby car seat cover made out of sheepskin or other natural skin such asshearling, cashmere, angora or canvas.

These and other objects of the present invention will become apparentfrom the detailed description which follows.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The child car seat cover of the present invention comprises a sheepskincover which covers the front and sides of the seat. In one embodiment,the sheepskin fits over the outer frame of the child seat. It has therequisite apertures for seat belts which extend out of the seat. Inanother embodiment, the cover includes attachable tube members whichcover the straps of the seat.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, a child or infantseat cover comprising an animal skin cover member having a cuff to fitover the sides, top or underside of a child's car seat, such covermember having a plurality of apertures for permitting the straps on themember.

In a further embodiment, a child seat cover comprising a sheepskin coverhaving a plurality of cuffs to fit over the sides, top and underside ofa child's car seat, such member having a plurality of apertures forpermitting the straps on the car seat to fit through, a plurality ofsheepskin strap cover members, and a detachable head support membercomprising a sheep skin flap.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the sheepskin baby seat of the presentinvention.

FIG. 2 is an alternative embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 3 is a section view of still a further embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 4 is still a further embodiment of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

The present invention is described with reference to the enclosedFigures. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the present invention is a novelsheepskin child car seat cover. The teachings of the present inventionare applicable to seats for infants, toddlers, pre-schoolers and olderchildren.

The cover comprises an animal skin cover 10 which covers the front 12and sides 14 and bottom 16 of the seat 17. The animal skin may comprisesheepskin (including shearling), angora, cashmere. The shearing materialmay be combined with canvas. The cover 10 has a plurality of overlappedsections 16 which attach the sides, top and underside of the seat. Inone embodiment, these overlapping sections 16 comprise cuffs 19 whichfit over the outer frame of the child seat at the top 12, sides 14 andbottom 16.

The cover 10 of the present invention is intended to work with a largenumber of commercial child or infant car seats including, but notlimited to, those made by Evenflo®, Cosco®, Graco®, Peg Perego® and TeamTex®.

As shown in FIG. 4, the cover seat has the requisite apertures 18 forthe seat belts which extend out of the seat. In another embodiment, thecover includes attachable tube members 22 which cover the straps 25. Thetube members 22 also constructed from animal skin, may be connected byVelcro or snaps and will fit about the retention straps of the seat.

In still a further feature, as shown in FIG. 1, the invention include aremovable head piece member 24. The head piece member 24 may be paddedfor additional comfort.

The seat cover of the present invention can come in a series of colors,such as white, black, navy or brown. It can further include otherfabrics, both natural and synthetic. It is preferred that the seat covermeet FAA Fireproof certification standards and further that the cover 10be washable.

It is further to be appreciated that the teaching of the presentapplication is applicable to other baby and child carrying systems.Specifically, the teachings of the present invention are applicable tosuch instrumentalities as wheeled baby joggers.

The present invention has been described with reference to the enclosedfigures. It is to be appreciated that the true nature and scope of theinvention is to be determined with reference to the attached claims.

1. A child mobile car seat cover comprising: an angora cover memberhaving at least one cuff fitting over at least one side, top orunderside of a child's mobile seat, such animal skin cover member havinga plurality of apertures for permitting the harnessing straps of thechild mobile car seat to pass through the cuff on the member; and saidchild mobile car seat cover further having a detachable head support andat least one strap cover member. 2-7. (canceled) 8-9. (canceled)